Bianca Moorman/The Meridian StarClarkdale High School teacher Toni Buchanan was named the Mississippi Agriculture Education Central District Teacher of the Year for 2019. 

Growing up in a family of farmers, Toni Buchanan knew she wanted to share her love of agriculture with younger people. 

“I guess agriculture was just the way I grew up,” said Buchanan, a teacher at Clarkdale High School. “It was more of a way of life.”

Buchanan was recently named the Mississippi Agriculture Education Central District Teacher of the Year for 2019. The Scott County native, who has been teaching agriculture and natural resources for 16 years, said she was honored to receive the award.

“I’m very humbled by this award,” she said. “I feel like the things our program has accomplished are due to the hard work of students…Without the students and people in the community plugging into what our students are doing, it wouldn’t have happened.” 

Buchanan began her career as a 4-H Extension agent at the University of Tennessee before moving back to Mississippi to take the teaching job at Clarkdale.

Describing her childhood, Buchanan remembers her grandparents raising soybeans and tending to cattle. She also participated in the 4-H program, which helped pique her interest in agriculture.

“I grew up very involved with 4-H, in public speaking and showing animals,” she said.

During her time at Clarkdale, Buchanan has pushed for improvements in the agriculture program, such as new technology and equipment. Last year, the program received a $20,000 grant from the Mississippi Department of Education that paid for classroom upgrades, laptops for students and a livestock trailer.  

Buchanan said the agriculture curriculum has changed over time, not just focusing how to be a farmer, but offering guidance on leadership and other skills. Technology is used in the the classroom to help students learn about changes in the agriculture field, she said. 

“So many people think of ag as just as old school,” she said. “But the truth is that it’s on the cutting edge of technology and medicine.” 

Roy McNeil, assistant principal of Clarkdale High said Buchanan teaches her students to work hard and to be engaged in the community. To him, she’s the agriculture teacher of the year every year, not just this year. 

Heather Rios, a fellow teacher at Clarkdale, has known Buchanan for 14 years. She described her as a dedicated educator who has a heart for people in her community.

Looking ahead, Buchanan hopes she’s not just a good teacher, but a role model to young girls. When she first started teaching, there weren’t many women teaching in her field, she said. This year, there are five girls in the class.

“I hope the girls get excited and involved just like the boys do,” she said.